Wondering if the trip to do one of their historic tours is worth it or if there is much to see post Katrina? Planning on going in late May.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 7:31 am and is filed under Trips.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
7 Responses to “Thinking of making a visit to New Orleans. How are the conditions post Katrina?”
Katrina is their history. I recommend checking out the mass destruction. It might give you a different outlook. You will also get to see how bogus OUR government handled the situation. At the same time get a first experience hand how strong and resilient the culture is.
Its fine I was there in March… The French Quarter and Burbon St were not really affected by Katrina (only wind damage). They do have tours the one I went on did show people still living in FEMA trailors, but it didn’t take us over to the 9th ward where there was the most damage. The historic part of the tour was awesome. Hope this Helps.
The regular “City” tours are operating, and the tour companies have added “Katrina Disaster” tours. I tried the three companies that offer “Katrina” tours and the best was by Grey Line. Your hotel can help schedule one for you.
Katrina flooded about 80% of New Orleans with salt water, and the water stayed for almost a month. Much of the city is still struggling to recover and all you have to do to see devastation is drive around. It will take years for NOLA to fully recover from Katrina.
However, the parts of the city that tourists usually visit were not flooded. It’s not a coincidence – the French Quarter and other old parts of the city were built on relatively high ground and only suffered wind damage from Katrina. Almost all of the damage has been repaired and you have to look closely in the FQ and city center to see that Katrina happened at all. You should visit and see for yourself.
Note that the City of New Orleans is only part of the greater New Orleans area. The GNO area had a population of about 1,400,000 before Katrina and is estimated at about 1,200,000 now (July, 2007). The absent 200,000 are mostly from the City of New Orleans and the parishes of Plaquemines and Saint Bernard, which were the worst-flooded parts of the metro area. Jefferson Parish – just to the west of the City – suffered only minor flooding and has fully recovered.
You can drink the water, the electricity & phones work, and services like the post office, hospitals, schools, and police/fire/EMS are operating. Restaurants, stores and shopping centers are open.
Municipal services like street cleaning & trash collection collapsed after Katrina. Those services were fully restored in late 2006 and it is no longer an issue.
I recommend staying in the French Quarter (Vieux Carre”) if you can. There is a very wide range of selections available, from moderate guest houses to very exclusive “boutique” hotels. Search Yahoo Travel and Travelocity for ideas and also check the hotel websites.
You don’t need a car to get around in the French Quarter, Central Business District, or Warehouse District. Also, the parking regulations are Byzantine and there are lots of Parking Control Agents. If you drive or rent a car, leave it in a lot or garage unless you are traveling away from downtown.
The regional transit authority (www.norta.com) sells 1 and 3 day passes that offer unlimited use of buses and streetcars for the day(s) you select. There are also lots of taxicabs.
Regarding crime, questions like yours tend to attract highly negative “answers” from people who do not live here and who have little or no idea what they are talking about. Use the same common sense necessary in every major city in the world and there is little chance you will be a victim of anything except a need to visit the gym: Pay attention to your surroundings. Don’t leave something like a camera-bag, purse, or backpack unattended on a park bench while you wander off to take photos. Etc.
New Orleans has mild weather from late October to early May and the city stays green all year most years (rarely freezes and almost never snows). We pay for the mild winters with hot, humid summers – particularly in July & August. The good news for summertime visitors is that hotel rates are lower.
Things to do:
There are many sightseeing opportunities in the greater New Orleans area, including carriage rides/tours, plantation tours, swamp tours, ghost tours, and even Katrina disaster tours. The steamboat Natchez also does a harbor tour. There are numerous tour companies and your hotel can help with the arrangements. Try to avoid scheduling an outdoor tour until you know the weather forecast for the day in question.
The Saint Charles Streetcar is the oldest continuously operating street railway in the world and is a “tourist attraction” in its own right. It is part of the public transit system, as are the Canal Street and Riverfront streetcar lines:
There is always music, but the bands change: Go to and click on Music then Listings or to and click on Listings, then Music. Note that music clubs often advertise “No Cover”, meaning there is no charge for entering. However, clubs with “No Cover” often require that customers buy a beverage each for every “set ” of music (which can be every 20 minutes) so know the price before you sit down. The clubs do that because some people will sit in the club all evening drinking water or nothing. It is also a good idea to pay for each round of drinks (in clubs on Bourbon Street) as it s delivered so there can’t be any confusion at the end of the evening.
Wander around the French Quarter, enjoy the architecture, watch the street entertainers (do tip), and visit some of the historic buildings that have been turned into museums (go to and click on Historic Attractions).
Assuming the weather is good, you can collect a sandwich lunch and eat in the riverfront park (watch the shipping) or in Jackson Square (a very nice park).
The Riverwalk shopping center has an air-conditioned food court with dining overlooking the river (www.riverwalkmarketplace.com). The Canal Place shopping center is in the French Quarter and has a cinema and higher-end shopping (Saks 5th Avenue, Brooks Brothers, etc.)
The lobby for the Westin Canal Place Hotel is on the 11th floor and overlooks the French Quarter. It is a great place for an afternoon drink/snack:(www.westin.com).
Cafe du Monde is in the French Quarter and you shouldn’t miss having cafe au lait & beignets (www.cafedumonde.com). Another great coffee shop is the Croissant d’Or (at 615 Ursulines Street), which is open from 7:00am to 2:00pm and has food in addition to pastry.
The Palm Court restaurant is very nice, has moderate prices, and traditional live jazz starting at 8:00pm: 1204 Decatur Street, tel 504-525-0200 (reservations are important and they are not open every day). The Palm Court is closed from about July 25th to about September 25th each year.
All of the famous restaurants (Antoine’s, Arnaud’s, Brennan’s, Commander’s Palace, etc.) have reopened. The Pelican Club (on Exchange Alley in the FQ) is not as well known but is the same type experience. Reservations are a good idea, and probably essential on weekends. Tujaques Restaurant (823 Decatur Street) is very traditional and has moderate prices:
Cafe Degas is a very French restaurant near City Park at 3127 Esplanade – which is not within walking distance of downtown (5 to 10 minutes by taxi). They are closed on Mondays & Tuesdays (504-945-5635).
There is a free ferry across the Mississippi at the “foot” of Canal Street. It is a short trip but like a harbor cruise w/o a guide:
The Aquarium and Audubon Zoo are world-class attractions (www.auduboninstitute.org) and you should see them if you can. The Zoo is several miles from downtown. You can drive to the Zoo (which has free parking) or take public transit from the French Quarter.
The Louisiana State Museum is in the French Quarter: New Orleans is also home to a number of other museums, such as the National World War II Museum (www.ddaymuseum.org) and the New Orleans Museum of Art (www.noma.org). Both can be reached by public transit: The WWII museum is in the central business district but a long walk from the French Quarter. NOMA is not within walking distance of downtown but has free parking.
New Orleans City Park has an amusement park with rides and attractions for children + free parking (www.neworleanscitypark.com).
The tourist areas are up and running as well as ever. New Orleans’ tourism industry is off to a strong start in the first quarter of 2008, with victories such as the NBA All-Star Game, college bowl games, Mardi Gras, a 20,000 -plus-person citywide convention and a lineup of major conventions and festivals pumping millions of dollars into the local economy. WIth the festival season coming up you can expect even more successful events that will help put New Orleans back on the map as one of the best tourism cities in the world.
I would recommend this tour company for the historic tour you were interested in.
You might enjoy this festival if it overlaps with your trip in late May
New Orleans Wine & Food Experience
May 21 – 25, 2008
A fantastic, five-day feast for all the senses, featuring wines from around the world and the best of New Orleans’ culinary culture. Events include seminars, Grand Tastings, Brunch & the Royal Street Stroll.
Phone: (504) 529-WINE
Depends on where you’re going. If you want to just stay in the French Quarter, you’ll see few signs of Katrina since they want want to keep that area perfect for tourists. However, if you want to venture out and around, then you won’t be able to escape the signs and destruction of Katrina.
I travel down there to see family often and I still love the city with all my heart and even Katrina cannot kill it’s charm and beauty. However, it is somewhat painful that after this long, it still looks as of Katrina hit recently in some places.
But if anything, traveling all through New Orleans will give you such an undescribable respect for the people and perseverance for that city. Don’t blind yours eyes to history because it’s not pretty. Just enjoy everything about Nola, the good and the bad and afterwards just have a hurricane from Pat O’Briens!!!!
If you are referring to the tourist spots, they are fine, but there are still many areas of the city like the lower 9th ward, which looks like it did after Katrina.
The city is fine for tourist ya’ll don’t have to worry about living in the kind of houses that we do so what ever you decide to do it’ll be just fine. P.S. The Riverwalk is not a really good mall the real mall is Lakeside mall and Oakwood mall which are odly not located in new orleans.
April 3rd, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Katrina is their history. I recommend checking out the mass destruction. It might give you a different outlook. You will also get to see how bogus OUR government handled the situation. At the same time get a first experience hand how strong and resilient the culture is.
April 4th, 2009 at 9:18 am
Its fine I was there in March… The French Quarter and Burbon St were not really affected by Katrina (only wind damage). They do have tours the one I went on did show people still living in FEMA trailors, but it didn’t take us over to the 9th ward where there was the most damage. The historic part of the tour was awesome. Hope this Helps.
April 4th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
The regular “City” tours are operating, and the tour companies have added “Katrina Disaster” tours. I tried the three companies that offer “Katrina” tours and the best was by Grey Line. Your hotel can help schedule one for you.
Katrina flooded about 80% of New Orleans with salt water, and the water stayed for almost a month. Much of the city is still struggling to recover and all you have to do to see devastation is drive around. It will take years for NOLA to fully recover from Katrina.
However, the parts of the city that tourists usually visit were not flooded. It’s not a coincidence – the French Quarter and other old parts of the city were built on relatively high ground and only suffered wind damage from Katrina. Almost all of the damage has been repaired and you have to look closely in the FQ and city center to see that Katrina happened at all. You should visit and see for yourself.
Note that the City of New Orleans is only part of the greater New Orleans area. The GNO area had a population of about 1,400,000 before Katrina and is estimated at about 1,200,000 now (July, 2007). The absent 200,000 are mostly from the City of New Orleans and the parishes of Plaquemines and Saint Bernard, which were the worst-flooded parts of the metro area. Jefferson Parish – just to the west of the City – suffered only minor flooding and has fully recovered.
You can drink the water, the electricity & phones work, and services like the post office, hospitals, schools, and police/fire/EMS are operating. Restaurants, stores and shopping centers are open.
Municipal services like street cleaning & trash collection collapsed after Katrina. Those services were fully restored in late 2006 and it is no longer an issue.
I recommend staying in the French Quarter (Vieux Carre”) if you can. There is a very wide range of selections available, from moderate guest houses to very exclusive “boutique” hotels. Search Yahoo Travel and Travelocity for ideas and also check the hotel websites.
You don’t need a car to get around in the French Quarter, Central Business District, or Warehouse District. Also, the parking regulations are Byzantine and there are lots of Parking Control Agents. If you drive or rent a car, leave it in a lot or garage unless you are traveling away from downtown.
The regional transit authority (www.norta.com) sells 1 and 3 day passes that offer unlimited use of buses and streetcars for the day(s) you select. There are also lots of taxicabs.
Regarding crime, questions like yours tend to attract highly negative “answers” from people who do not live here and who have little or no idea what they are talking about. Use the same common sense necessary in every major city in the world and there is little chance you will be a victim of anything except a need to visit the gym: Pay attention to your surroundings. Don’t leave something like a camera-bag, purse, or backpack unattended on a park bench while you wander off to take photos. Etc.
New Orleans has mild weather from late October to early May and the city stays green all year most years (rarely freezes and almost never snows). We pay for the mild winters with hot, humid summers – particularly in July & August. The good news for summertime visitors is that hotel rates are lower.
Things to do:
There are many sightseeing opportunities in the greater New Orleans area, including carriage rides/tours, plantation tours, swamp tours, ghost tours, and even Katrina disaster tours. The steamboat Natchez also does a harbor tour. There are numerous tour companies and your hotel can help with the arrangements. Try to avoid scheduling an outdoor tour until you know the weather forecast for the day in question.
The Saint Charles Streetcar is the oldest continuously operating street railway in the world and is a “tourist attraction” in its own right. It is part of the public transit system, as are the Canal Street and Riverfront streetcar lines:
There is always music, but the bands change: Go to and click on Music then Listings or to and click on Listings, then Music. Note that music clubs often advertise “No Cover”, meaning there is no charge for entering. However, clubs with “No Cover” often require that customers buy a beverage each for every “set ” of music (which can be every 20 minutes) so know the price before you sit down. The clubs do that because some people will sit in the club all evening drinking water or nothing. It is also a good idea to pay for each round of drinks (in clubs on Bourbon Street) as it s delivered so there can’t be any confusion at the end of the evening.
Wander around the French Quarter, enjoy the architecture, watch the street entertainers (do tip), and visit some of the historic buildings that have been turned into museums (go to and click on Historic Attractions).
Assuming the weather is good, you can collect a sandwich lunch and eat in the riverfront park (watch the shipping) or in Jackson Square (a very nice park).
The Riverwalk shopping center has an air-conditioned food court with dining overlooking the river (www.riverwalkmarketplace.com). The Canal Place shopping center is in the French Quarter and has a cinema and higher-end shopping (Saks 5th Avenue, Brooks Brothers, etc.)
The lobby for the Westin Canal Place Hotel is on the 11th floor and overlooks the French Quarter. It is a great place for an afternoon drink/snack:(www.westin.com).
Cafe du Monde is in the French Quarter and you shouldn’t miss having cafe au lait & beignets (www.cafedumonde.com). Another great coffee shop is the Croissant d’Or (at 615 Ursulines Street), which is open from 7:00am to 2:00pm and has food in addition to pastry.
The Palm Court restaurant is very nice, has moderate prices, and traditional live jazz starting at 8:00pm: 1204 Decatur Street, tel 504-525-0200 (reservations are important and they are not open every day). The Palm Court is closed from about July 25th to about September 25th each year.
All of the famous restaurants (Antoine’s, Arnaud’s, Brennan’s, Commander’s Palace, etc.) have reopened. The Pelican Club (on Exchange Alley in the FQ) is not as well known but is the same type experience. Reservations are a good idea, and probably essential on weekends. Tujaques Restaurant (823 Decatur Street) is very traditional and has moderate prices:
Cafe Degas is a very French restaurant near City Park at 3127 Esplanade – which is not within walking distance of downtown (5 to 10 minutes by taxi). They are closed on Mondays & Tuesdays (504-945-5635).
There is a free ferry across the Mississippi at the “foot” of Canal Street. It is a short trip but like a harbor cruise w/o a guide:
The Aquarium and Audubon Zoo are world-class attractions (www.auduboninstitute.org) and you should see them if you can. The Zoo is several miles from downtown. You can drive to the Zoo (which has free parking) or take public transit from the French Quarter.
The Louisiana State Museum is in the French Quarter: New Orleans is also home to a number of other museums, such as the National World War II Museum (www.ddaymuseum.org) and the New Orleans Museum of Art (www.noma.org). Both can be reached by public transit: The WWII museum is in the central business district but a long walk from the French Quarter. NOMA is not within walking distance of downtown but has free parking.
New Orleans City Park has an amusement park with rides and attractions for children + free parking (www.neworleanscitypark.com).
Check for ideas on other things to do.
Hope you have a great time!
April 6th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
The tourist areas are up and running as well as ever. New Orleans’ tourism industry is off to a strong start in the first quarter of 2008, with victories such as the NBA All-Star Game, college bowl games, Mardi Gras, a 20,000 -plus-person citywide convention and a lineup of major conventions and festivals pumping millions of dollars into the local economy. WIth the festival season coming up you can expect even more successful events that will help put New Orleans back on the map as one of the best tourism cities in the world.
I would recommend this tour company for the historic tour you were interested in.
You might enjoy this festival if it overlaps with your trip in late May
New Orleans Wine & Food Experience
May 21 – 25, 2008
A fantastic, five-day feast for all the senses, featuring wines from around the world and the best of New Orleans’ culinary culture. Events include seminars, Grand Tastings, Brunch & the Royal Street Stroll.
Phone: (504) 529-WINE
April 8th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Depends on where you’re going. If you want to just stay in the French Quarter, you’ll see few signs of Katrina since they want want to keep that area perfect for tourists. However, if you want to venture out and around, then you won’t be able to escape the signs and destruction of Katrina.
I travel down there to see family often and I still love the city with all my heart and even Katrina cannot kill it’s charm and beauty. However, it is somewhat painful that after this long, it still looks as of Katrina hit recently in some places.
But if anything, traveling all through New Orleans will give you such an undescribable respect for the people and perseverance for that city. Don’t blind yours eyes to history because it’s not pretty. Just enjoy everything about Nola, the good and the bad and afterwards just have a hurricane from Pat O’Briens!!!!
April 11th, 2009 at 6:43 am
If you are referring to the tourist spots, they are fine, but there are still many areas of the city like the lower 9th ward, which looks like it did after Katrina.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:07 am
The city is fine for tourist ya’ll don’t have to worry about living in the kind of houses that we do so what ever you decide to do it’ll be just fine. P.S. The Riverwalk is not a really good mall the real mall is Lakeside mall and Oakwood mall which are odly not located in new orleans.